Director of the Jeremiah Horrocks Institute Derek Ward-Thompson said: “This is such a unique telescope because of its sheer size. Where a smaller telescope can see planets and the moon, this can see distant galaxies, nebulae and ‘deep sky objects’ so it’s very exciting. In one picture we have seen a so-called ‘jet’ from a black hole at centre of a distant galaxy.

“It’s also special because it will be used by our undergraduates rather than postgraduates and PhD students. It’s a huge draw for new students to know they will be using such a fantastic scope on a regular basis for their undergraduate studies.”

Professor Ward-Thompson said: “Astronomy is very popular and as such we do a lot of outreach work with schools and children’s clubs, such as the Brownies and Cubs, but also with local astronomical groups and societies. This new telescope means we can show even more of the universe to lots of interested parties.”

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